Power cuts placing increased pressure on the health system - PN
Many summer schools also lack air-conditioned classrooms
The ongoing power cuts across the island are putting vulnerable people at risk and placing increased pressure on the health system, the Nationalist Party said on Tuesday.
The shadow minister for health, Stephen Spiteri, said there has been a substantial increase in cases of heat exhaustion caused by excessive heat affecting people who are unable to remain in a cool environment.
"The failure of the energy system is not only resulting in spoiled food and damaged appliances, but is also having a deeply harmful impact on the health of the most vulnerable," he said in a statement.
"As a result of prolonged power cuts across a large number of localities, there has been a substantial increase in cases of heat exhaustion, caused by excessive heat affecting people who are unable to remain in a cool environment, as well as dehydration and other heat-related consequences."
Spiteri said the increase in the number of people requiring treatment at Mater Dei Hospital’s Emergency Department is also a serious concern for a hospital that is already under severe pressure. It is now facing additional demand from people requiring hospital treatment as a direct consequence of power cuts, including supportive treatment such as intravenous drips and other care for the effects of excessive heat.
"This is not normally a period when our hospital comes under such pressure. However, the failures in the electricity supply system are placing further strain on the hospital and healthcare professionals. It is already a problem that practically the whole of Malta depends on a single hospital. Mater Dei certainly cannot sustain additional pressures of this kind."
Summer schools without air conditioning
In a separate statement, the PN observed that most state schools still lack air conditioning.
Hundreds of students and educators are attending Skolasajf and Klabb 3-16 in excessive heat as classrooms lack air-conditioning systems, shadow minister Jerome Caruana Cilia said.
"Classrooms should not be environments where children and educators are forced to endure high temperatures that affect their health, concentration and learning," he said.
He recalled that the Labour Party had, in its 2022 manifesto, promised to install air-conditioning systems in classrooms and staff rooms in all schools in Malta and Gozo.
The pledge has still not been fully implemented. Students and educators cannot be expected to wait for years for basic working and learning conditions, Caruana Cilia said.